By ESL StudentsMarch 2015

It Turned Differently !

I have been in the US for more than two years now and I like it so far, but when

I think back about the first months when I came here it seems like I never thought I would make it that long or consider staying for years in this country but somehow, it has actually happened.

At first, I remember being surprised that the United Sates wasn`t how I pictured it in my mind. In fact, my first weeks here were joyful and exciting although things that I noticed were far from what I had imagined and hoped for before. It never occurred to me that some people would

live in this great country the way they do. I never thought that there would be so many homeless, people in need,

poverty, lack of jobs, high cost of living, inaccessible

health care or even pollution and dirt on the streets.

I used to think the U.S was like a hea-venly place where everything was just perfect but I wouldn`t anymore since that isn`t the case. After my expectations had fallen apart and consequently, feelings of disappointment had taken the place of pleasurable thoughts in my life, I decided to continue the decision I made by coming to this country and deal with that situation in the best matter. It took me a lot of work on myself, patience, courage, and curio-sity, especially to know how this country really works and therefore, I would be able to live in it.

It took me awhile to figure out some things, like how I would make a decent living or how I would pursue a successful career....I’m

still learning more and more each day in the wake of my first lesson, which

was that The Grass Isn’t Gree-ner On the Other Side, in another country or wherever. It does not matter what we heard or were told or in spite of what we might see on television or read about. Re-gardless of what we would like to

think and dream about, that Grass wouldn’t be Greener on that other

side. Eventually, you need to realize that and see it right there, and that`s exactly what happened to me. Who knows? Maybe you would like it anyway. Just like I did.

Sarah OuslimESL 33A

It Turned Differently! 1

Iran and Iranian people2

My Marriage

3

How PSTD affects people 4

Expectations

Opportunity to be in the U.S.A

The hated bikers

Quiz your self!!and PuzzleExpectations fromESL Students

The Bound feet of Grandmother

My favorite movie

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7

8

6

Expectations

Iran and Iranian People

I have had a nice time in America, but when I was young, I could not imagi-

ne that I would immigrate to America. I remember the day my mom said to me that we would move to America since we got green cards for the U.S. I was con-fused because when I heard the news, I had been preparing for the Korean uni-versity exam. I felt like this story was not mine because I did not know that my aunt had invited us to the U.S!

Before coming to America, actually I worried a lot. It was the first time for me to live in another country! Although I have been acclimated to this American culture well, everything made me scared at first. I was not sure whe-ther I would do well in studying. Now I think that I overcame almost all the obstacles. I am proud of myself. These days, my new goal is getting a good grade in every subject and transfer to Cal Tech or UC Berkeley! I will keep doing my best.

Claire SurESL 33A

2

Iran is a very beautiful and special coun-try. It has four different types of weather

that make it seem like there are four diffe-rent seasons in other places in the country of Iran! The New Year begins on the first day of spring. This is very exciting.

Iran has a lot of beautiful places including mountains, deserts, and valleys. You can see many beautiful and healthy flowers. For example, the flower soosan chelcheragh only sprouts 1 time a year and is only found in 2 places on Earth!

Additionally Iran has many ancient places

By Neda MoetamediESL 422, Professor Carol Curtis

where you can just go for a tour or for ex-ploration! It has a city named Perce Palace with many valuable items, which a lot of museums now own or have borrowed. Did you know that the population of Iran is 79,104,063?! The people of Iran are kind and generous people. Iranian peo-ple speak the modern Persian language. Most people of Iran like family and live with their grandparents. They pay many respects to their elders and do what they are told. Iranian people are very smart and talented. Now you can see why I really like Iran especially because I was born there!

Newsfrom the

ESLCenter

ESL Center WorkshopsPresented by Eileen Snyder, Learning Assistance Center

Spring 2015All workshops meet in D306 (12:10-12:55) on Thursdays. All levels may attend any workshop.

March 19: Articles: Not a Walk in the Park! (all levels)

March 26: Say WHAT? Indirect Speech (levels 3-5)

April 2: Fragments and Run-ons (Levels 3-5)

April 9: Parallel Structure (Levels 3-5)

My Marriage

Opportunity to be in the U.S.

I had been married to my wife for 18 years by the time my family immigra-

ted to the U.S. in August 2013. When I worked in the institute of Wuhan Universi-ty of Technology in 1992, my wife entered the institute as an intern. Her research topic was to explore some new glass formation. She was kind and beautiful. But I was a nerd and worked without playing and dating. She worked with me in the same lab. I remember the first time I chatted with her because of an introduction by my associate.

Our dating was like a romantic story, but

Hongbing Yin ESL 33A

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For foreigners from many countries all over the world, it is very difficult to get a U.S. visa. I’m one of the lucky

people to get a visa. I can come to the freedom, safety, and clean environment that the U.S. has. The United States of America practices the law which allows people to have the ability to express their ideas. The law also allows freedom of speech, assembly and the most important is to protect human rights. Also it is a safe country. Any person can tra-vel everywhere they want without worry. Public places, for example, parks, beaches, and mountains are designed for safety. At the beach there are lifeguards and at the mountain parks, there are rangers. Everyone has to pass a driver’s test and get a license in order to operate their automobiles on the road. That would decrease accidents. A clean envi-ronment is a concern for all food business owners. They are required to have basic safe food handling from the Food and Drug Administration, which passes laws about food safety and health. All the cities have schedules to clean their com-munities and streets and they put trash bins in almost every public place. The law enforces manufacturers and factories to reduce their toxic chemicals to reduce air pollution. They even have the Environmental Protection Agency to help peo-ple to understand how to keep the environment healthy and clean. People can protect the place they live in and make it healthy. The United States of America has opportunity for people to live a better life, and I am glad to be a part of this community.

Sophean HingESL 422, Prof. Carol Curtis

not more than others. We began to see films together and travel together. When we were going to marry, we faced a big fi-nancial problem. We had no house to live together in. It was unimaginable for the youth to afford a new house in China in the 1990s. So we conspired to change our job to earn more money. It was good luck for us. I found a job in Chinese telecom-munication industry, a long-term booming industry in China with high salary. We had been saving money for six years since we married in 1992. We rejoiced at our first house located in a high-level district in Wuhan, which was quite convenient for

our future life. The facilities were quite good quality with a top shopping center, a satisfactory hospital service and one of the most famous universities within a one-mile area.

Although there are a lot of tough times in my life, we have been married happily.

Newsfrom theESLCenter

ESL Conversation GroupsJoin us!

Mondays 12:00-1:00pm in the ESL Center

Pronunciation WorkshopsTuesdays, March 17-April 28, 2015If you are interested, please attend one ofthese times. Sign up in the ESL Center, D306.

2:00-3:00pm3:00-4:00pm4:00-5:00pm5:00-6:00pm

How PTSD Affected People

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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a syndrome that would occur after

a person’s exposure to unforget-table traumatic events. Nowa-days, more than ten million Americans experience PTSD. During wartime, it was known as “shell shock”. Tragedies such as criminal attacks or sexual assaults, natu-ral disasters and acci-dents can cause PTSD. Flashback, nightmares, emotional numbness, sleep disturbances, de-pression and anxiety are the common symptoms of many PTSD patients. However, these symptoms have different effects on people. For some people, the symptoms will last longer, but for others, the symptoms are shorter. PTSD could happen to any age even children, ado-lescents and adults if they have experienced traumatic events during their lifetime which affect them in their lives.

Children who have experienced traumatic events at an early age could easily have PTSD. Crystal Woodman, who expe-rienced a gunshot when she was in high school in 1999, re-called that she suffered nightmares every night for two years. After the shooting, she didn’t want to be around people, and also didn’t want people around her. Moreover, some reports show that children with PTSD have a hard time to concentra-te on their schoolwork and have trouble learning new things and memorizing things. Adolescents with PTSD often repor-ted that they have high level of depression. Some of them even have self-injurious behaviors.

Fortunately, Dr. Glenn Saxe, the chairman of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center, said that most of the kids who experienced traumas will end up doing fine. In 1999, Marjorie Long had been trapped

References:1)Children Can Usually Recover from Emotional Traumahttp://sks.sirs.com.ezp.pasadena.edu/cgi-bin/hst-article-display

2)Escaping The Prison Of A Past Trauma: New Treatment For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorderhttp://sks.sirs.com.ezp.pasadena.edu/cgi-bin/hst-article-display

3)Facts About Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder http://sks.sirs.com.ezp.pasadena.edu/cgi-bin/hst-article-display

4)Title: Practitioner Review: The Assessment and Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Children and Adolescentshttp://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.pasadena.edu/ehost/detail/detail

Camille ChenESL 122, Prof. Angela McGaharn

in the classroom with a dying teacher du-ring her sophomore year in school. Her

mother said that she had been phy-sically sick for a year after that.

Now, Long is able to move on in her life.

Even though adults are tougher than children and adolescents, PTSD could affect their nor-mal life, too. In 1994, Kellie Greene was ra-ped by a stranger with a knife inside her apart-

ment. Greene recalls that her sadness was so

heavy so she would cry uncontrollably at any time

after she been raped. She suffers flashback and has trou-

ble to sleep at night. Veterans will suffer PTSD because of their losses

and sadness during wartime. Research shows that one million war veterans developed PTSD after serving the war in Vietnam or the Persian Gulf Wars.

Many people with PTSD don’t seek help. Some of them may not notice they have PTSD, and others might think that they can’t be cured. Actually, PTSD is treata-ble with medication or psychotherapy, even both. Zoloft is an approved drug by FDA that can deal with depres-sion, panic and other disorders. Besides Zoloft, group or individual psychotherapy could also help PTSD patients can manage their symptoms. There are three types of effective psychotherapy: exposure therapy, cognitive be-havioral therapy and anxiety management. Among those three types of psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioral Treat-ment (CBT) is the most frequent psychosocial treatment that could effectively reduce PTSD symptoms in adults. The traditional group therapy for children can significantly reduce PTSD in children.

You don’t belong here. There you are making a difference, helping this world, caring about global warming. However

other people look at you and they don’t like you, because you are invading their space. In other words, you are a bike rider. As a car driver using the roads, or as a walker using sidewalks, people don’t like bikers. Therefore, bikers are risking their lives every day in three different ways. Cars do not respect bikers; people walk on the street feeling that the street belongs to them, and bikers do not have enough space to ride their bikes.

The necessity of transportation in Los Angeles is a priority. Therefore, there are many bikers risking their lives trying to get to their homes every day. There is no age to be a biker, who can be young, old or even a child. While people are driving, usually they aren’t paying attention; they are talking on the phone or even worse texting. They don´t see bikers, so accidents frequently happen. People are not aware that they must share roads with

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bikers. Car drivers are stressed about traffic or they are in a hurry, and they don’t appreciate that the bikers are not using cars.

Bikers usually use the sidewalk because it’s safer. However, pedestrians walk right in the middle of the sidewalk, and when a biker approaches they get mad about that. Bikers don’t have enough options. They have to stay safe. People should be con-siderate that bikers don’t have enough space on the road, and help them by walking on one side on the sidewalk.

The government must take the fact seriously that there are a lot of cars in Los Angeles. They should consider that the next time they design a road, they should leave special space for bikers. Bikers need their own space on the roads. Bikers don’t contaminate air when they are riding. However, they don’t have enough protection in a car accident. Therefore, the government should encourage more people to use their bicycle by designing space for bicycles.

Finally, bikers contribute more than other citizens, because they are not using oil, thus avoiding global warming, and they are avoiding obesity, and they are not a danger for other people. That is the reason why they should be taken more seriously.

Reyna RamirezESL 033A

Thehatedbikers

Knock, knock

Who's there?

Parka.

Parka who?

Parka your bike

next to the tree

on the front lawn.

Knock, knock

Who's there?

Phyll is.

Pyll is who?

Phyll is up.

My car is

out of gas.

The Bound Feet of Grandmother

My Favorite Movie

PUZZLE

6

A beautiful woman was skillfully wrapping a long black cloth on her small and fair skin feet, and she stood up from the chair and walked slowly and unstably. This scene often appeared in my dream. The woman is my grandmother. She lived through a war-torn time of China, suffered the effects from foot-binding, lost her husband when she was middle aged and experienced times of hunger, but she never gave up on life. Her life experience and spirit of being strong, brave and perseverant always influence me.

My grandmother, the strongest woman in my life, never complained about her sufferings. Through her ex-perience, I learned how to be a brave and strong person. It was a pretty hot summer afternoon and I was five years old. I wanted to buy ice cream, and my grandmother ac-companied me. When I walked about ten minutes, I did not want to walk anymore and I wanted to sit in the stroller. After my grandmother pushed the stroller for a while, she asked me if I could walk. I refused and my grandmother did not say anything. With her slim body, supported by her tiny bound feet, she unsteadily yet enduringly pushed the stroller. After we went back home, my father was very angry at me, but I did not understand why. Letting a bound foot woman walk a long distance is very agonizing. My grandmother did not complain about anything even when she was very tired and her feet were in pain. After I grew up, I finally understood what my grandmother was going through and I was very ashamed for what I asked her to do. Her attitude during pain and suffering taught me not to give up so easily and to endure what life throws at me.

When I encounter difficulties, I always think about my grandmother who was strong and brave during tough

Na LeeProf: Maria Pehlivanova

ESL33A

Ziying(Camille) ChenESL403, Prof. Melissa Michelson

times in her life, and I should not have any reasons to complain about any hardships that I have in our current peaceful society. My grandmother was born in a traditional family in China. During that time, people considered women with small feet to be beautiful. Because of this antiquated view of beauty, she was forced to have her feet bound when she was young. Women with bound feet could only walk short distances, and they usually stayed at home. My grandfather was a businessman. During the Cultural Re-volution, my grandfather died because he was tormented by the communist government which believed he was a capitalist. As a widow, my grandmother had to work to feed the whole family. Due to the family background, my grandmother could not find a job. In order for the family to survive, she had no choice but to sell food on the street. She got up at 3 am everyday, and she walked slowly and unstably with her bound feet. Unfortunately, one day, the district administration unreasonably told her that her busi-ness was capitalism, and they ruthlessly took her money away. My grandmother didn't give up. She kept trying to find another way to feed the family of that time.After Great Culture Revolution, she found a job at a sanitation depart-ment.

My grandmother spent her whole life raising two generations, and she never complained. When I asked how she felt about her tough times, she just stared far away and remained silent. In her eyes, I saw her brave, strong and perseverant heart. Even though my grandmother le f t 20 years ago, she a lways l i ves in my hear t and her sp i r i t a lways encourages me.

Dead Poets Society has been one of my favorite movies since I came to the United States. The Dead Poets Society was released in 1989,

which is a long time ago and stars Robin Williams. It’s about a passionate teacher named John Keating, who teaches in a traditional academy that has strict rules for students. All the students in that academy are boys. Mr. Keating inspires those boys to “Carpe Diem,” which is a Latin ex-pression that means “seize the day” in English. Through his teaching of poetry, Neil, my favorite character in the movie, is brave enough to pursue his dream to become an actor instead of following the path that his father has set up for him in his life. Unfortunately, he commits sui-cide in the end of the movie because he has suffered too much pressure from his father. What made me love this movie is the last scene. In the last scene, Mr. Keating is blamed for Neil’s death and he gets expelled from the academy. However, most boys in his class stand up for the truth and appreciate what they learnt from Mr. Keating. I think this is a great movie that could definitely inspire different generations.

Quiz

PUZZLE Hav fun and try to find the 12 words in this puzzle. Bring the completed puzzle to the

ESL Center in D306 and get a prize!

1. NARRATIVE2. UNIQUE

3. CONTRAST4. COMPOUND

5. ISSUE6. MAJOR7. RATIO

8. STRATEGY9. NORM

10, THEME11.THESIS12. INJURY

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Quiz Yourself! 1. Who was the 16th president of the U.S.?2. What is the abbreviation for Arizona?3. What is the capital of California?4. What is the abbreviation for Mississippi?5. By 2017, Camille will have been studying English for 11 years. How long has she been studying English now?

a. 2 years b. 9 years c. 11 years

Answer the following questions

correctly and go to the ESL Center (D306) for a prize!

B NR A TA G AS V L

C OR X HE C KT A I

A RA T EN A VR I N

I MT H SM A AA A J

S PI E IA A AT W U

S XO M SJ E SE E R

U NA E AO A FG A Y

E UK I ER N UY Q Y

P TO A SC R TN S M

C OM N TO U TP D A

Expectations from ESL Students

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CONTRIBUTIONSEditorial and Layout Team

• Camille Chen (Ziying Chen)

• Sophean Hing

• Reyna Ramirez

• Neda Moetamedi

• Paulette Koubek-Yao / Faculty

My Educational Plan

My education plan has changed several times. When I was in Ju-

nior High school, I thought I would be a teacher. However, there were a lot of friends whose dream was to be a teacher, so I changed my education plan. When I saw some policewomen on TV, I was so excited. At that time, my education plan was to be a policewoman, but I gave up quickly because I thought it was dangerous.

When I registered for PCC, I was thinking about what major I should select. I thought I could be a doctor or a nurse at that time. At the time, I thought it is really difficult to study about medicine. I still worry about my education plan.

Cynthia XinESL 33A

U.S. Life

I’ve been in the United States for five months. There were some changes

when I moved here. I stayed in Hong Kong for eighteen years. I graduated high school in Hong Kong. After the public exam, I decided to study in America. It’s because the educational system is better than Hong Kong. I’ve visited some places here. I went to San Diego last Christmas.

I thought I would do the best in this semester. However, I violated my promise. It’s because I always feel stressful when facing a lot of exams. Before the classes, I thought I would get a great GPA. I think it is hard to achieve the goal now.

Matthew HoESL33A

Past Expectations

When I first came to the US, I was supposed to live with my uncle’s friend. She is an old friend of my uncle. Then everything changed. When I

arrived at the airport, my uncle picked me up and showed me my new United States life. After a few days at his place, he take me to his friend’s house which is a hundred and fifty miles away from where I live now. I would live there and attend the college nearby if nothing happened.

After I lived there for two months, I felt extremely uncomfortable with her family. They were pretty mean and bossy to me. They made me do all the housework and laundry. They said because I lived in their house, my duty was to help them with the house. They didn’t help me to get me my driver license, which is very important. At first I didn’t say anything to my parents because I didn’t want them to worry about me. I only talked to my best friend. Finally my dad found out and he was furious. He decided to fly all the way from Vietnam to the US to took care of me and found a new place for me to stay. How lucky I am, my father met his old friend from almost twenty years ago. His house had an empty room so he let me stay in that room. He also found a car for me that was really cheap. His family is really nice and they treat me like their family’s member. My dad flew back to Vietnam after a few weeks staying with me because he has business to take care of.

Now I’m totally happy with what I have. I must say I’m lucky that my dad had found his old friend and I know my dad had made a good friend in his life.

Jolie WongESL 033A

If you have any interesting essays or journal entries that you would like to share with the ESL program, please send them to pcctheglobenewsletter@hotmail.com. Include your name and contact information along with your class and teacher's name. If you have any questions, contact Paulette Koubek at pakoubek@pasadena.edu. The next meeting for editors and layout team is on Tuesday March 31, 12:30 to 1pm in the ESL Center.